Sacrifice
by RockOnRose
Summary: *Sequel to A Worthless Nobody*  The hardest things to give up are the only things worth sacrificing.
1. Chapter 1

**Wow. it's been a long time.**  
><strong>first off, i would like to apologize. for two things. first and foremost, the time. i promised you a sequel long, long ago. finally, it is here. second, i would like to apologize for my old writing. i like to think my writing now is a lot better than what it was. and i'm sorry you had to suffer through my atrocious writing that was A Worthless Nobody.<strong>  
><strong>but, above all else, i would like to thank you. If you are reading this, it means you like this story enough to stick through this somewhat abusive relationship. And all i can do is say thank you from the bottom of my heart.<strong>  
><strong>fly on, kazooers.<strong>

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><p><em>Is it time to rise above this? <em>  
><em> Is it time to move beyond the choice I made <em>  
><em> And say, I can love this <em>  
><em> Someday... <em>  
><em> What if I wait around for forever <em>  
><em> Holding onto the hope <em>  
><em> that there's something more for me <em>  
><em> Would I waste whatever's left of this life <em>  
><em> Living for things I think I need? <em>

_-One of these days by Gavin Mikhail_

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>  
><strong>Communication<strong>

Pleo turned her head slightly to the left, looking out the window and into the sky. She propped her head in her right hand and let her eyes close. School was boring. It always had been and she feared it always would be.

She didn't feel like she _deserved_ a more exciting life, but after the journey she had six years ago, her life now was dull and repetitive. She couldn't say she missed the reason why they were together but she could say that she missed the company. She was ten when her life changed and it now felt like a far off memory. She almost would have sworn it was a dream, if not for the scars. Deym had a few battle wounds and she had a scar on her knee from when her brother, Marik, had stabbed her.

She didn't understand how life had changed for her so quickly after that day. She had said goodbye to Demyx and all of her new friends and then she was living alone with Deym. Six years later and she hadn't heard word from Demyx, Axel, Bruixe, or even Sora. Not that she expected them to call her up on the telephone the next day or anything.

Six years and she hadn't stopped waiting to hear from them.

She wondered at times if she should give up and try to forget them. But she knew that was impossible and remembered Demyx every time she looked in the mirror and saw the necklace he had given her hanging around her neck. She went without the necklace for a day, in her attempt to forget, but all it did was cause her to feel empty inside.

She did miss them, but she hadn't spent her time sitting around waiting for them. She was, after all, the Purest Heart—whether she still understood what that meant or not—and therefore couldn't ignore what was around her. She took turns patrolling at night around the town she lived in with her older brother. During the weekends she would practice her magic or spar with Deym so her ability to defend herself was stronger than ever.

It was a selfish wish, but sometimes she wanted the town to be in some kind of danger. All she got was the occasional heartless. Not much came to their world. Deym had guessed Pleo's heart was the reason for that. Her light was enough to drive out the demons. Or so it seemed.

"Pleo," her Physics teacher called her to attention, "Are you listening to me?"

Pleo sat up straight, "Yes, ma'am."

"Please answer the question," she instructed, folding her hands over her stomach. It was something she did when she didn't believe her students. She often did this when she spoke to Pleo.

Pleo studied the board for a second, taking in the problem, "To answer the proposed question you would use Newton's law of universal gravitation."

The teacher pursed her lips and turned back to the board. Pleo was off the hook, again. She spent most of her time at school looking out the windows which tended to be a common pet peeve for teachers. Pleo did her work and was always ready for the questions teachers asked. Her Physics teacher in particularly liked to try and catch her off guard. It rarely happened.

The bell rang and Pleo was one of the first out of the classroom. She liked her next class most. It was English with Mr. Billard. She respected him above her other teachers. He often made jokes during class and he didn't mind when Pleo stared out the window. He was the most relaxed.

"As long as you get your work done," he told her early in the school year when she had fallen asleep in class, "And you have a passing grade, I don't care what you do in my class," he had smirked when he saw her face light up, "That's right, I just gave you some freedom, baby. Don't abuse it. Keep your grades up."

She got to class early so she could slide into her usual seat. Fourth row back, right up next to the window.

Class was about to begin when Pleo was settling into her sky gazing position. Mr. Billard was starting in on his lecture and the class was quieting down. Pleo had been on patrol last night, with no action, and was soon drifting off.

That was when a large flash of light engulfed her hand and left her staff in her hand. She quickly ordered her weapon away, trying to hide her arm between the desk and the wall. Her sudden movement caught the eye of a few people but hadn't interrupted the lecture yet.

As soon as the weapon was away, it summoned itself again, creating a blinding light over Pleo's hand. She quickly grabbed her sweatshirt and threw it over the staff, trying to hide it.

"Pleo," Mr. Billard called her out, "Do you have an issue?"

"What?" she blurted, frantic, "Yeah, I, uh, need to use the bathroom. Please?"

He gave her a look and a few people laughed but he flicked his hand, dismissing her from class.

Pleo staggered to her feet, trying to wrap the staff up in her jacket but the ends couldn't be concealed. She rushed into the hallway and dismissed the staff. After a few more rounds of tag, her weapon finally stayed away.

Pleo shook her head and returned to class. Her weapon had never summoned itself before. She took her seat and kept her hand wrapped in her sweatshirt, just in case.

"Okay, everyone grab a partner," Mr. Billard instructed.

Pleo looked out the window. She knew she wouldn't have a partner. No one ever wanted to work with her. She was weird, or so they claimed. Pleo couldn't figure out why the other students didn't seem to like her. She didn't smell and she didn't consider herself bad looking. Her clothes weren't too out of the ordinary, either. She knew people a lot weirder than herself who had more friends than she did.

The bell rang soon after partners were chosen. Pleo scrambled to her feet, gathering up her backpack while keeping the sweatshirt wrapped around her arm. Maybe that was why the other kids didn't like her. She had strange weapons materializing around her without warning. She collected her things and was the last one out the door.

"Pleo," Mr. Billard called her back into the classroom, "Come talk to me for a second."

Mr. Billard sat on a desk in the front row and Pleo stood awkwardly a few feet away from the doorway.

"I can't help but notice," he began, "That you are constantly the one student who doesn't have a partner. I know I have an odd number of students in this class, but why is it that the odd man out is always you?"

Pleo glanced down at her feet, "I like working alone."

"Sure," he nodded, "But it's called a group project for a reason. I assign a lot of group projects and it isn't fair to you as a student. You are doing twice as much work as everyone else."

Pleo couldn't stop herself from getting defensive, "I'm getting an A in this class, aren't I?"

"I don't care about what's going on in here," he gestured to the class room, "I care about what's going on in here," he pointed to his head.

"I'm fine," she insisted, "I don't need any sympathy or extra help or partners to do my work."

Mr. Billard frowned, "Unfortunately, I don't believe you. Anyway, I want you to talk to your family, okay? Let them know what's going on. You don't talk much at school. I just want to make sure you're at least talking at home. It's healthy, you know, to communicate with other people. You're dismissed."

Pleo turned quickly and left the room. She didn't feel the need to tell Deym any of this. He worried enough about her. After all, she didn't really mind being alone at school. Most of the people around her were light hearted. Difficult for her to get along with.

Pleo found it ironic that she got along better with people who didn't have hearts.

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><p><strong>reviews please? :DD<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

_Here we go  
>does it hurt?<br>say goodbye to this world.  
>i will not be undone.<br>come to life.  
>it gets worse.<br>all in all  
>you're no good<br>you don't cry like you should  
>i'll be gone when you fall<br>your sad life says it all_

What Lies Beneath by Breaking Benjamin

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

**Leaving**

Instead of staring out the window, Pleo was staring at the clock. It was the last period of the day and there was less than five minutes left in class. _Staring makes it worse,_ she reminded herself and turned away. Back to her window.

A figure caught her eye. A dark hood with a shrouded face. It was still, frozen almost, leaning on the glass window of a nearby store. She looked desperately at the figure. She started with the boots, checking for a heel. No, no heel. Two possibilities were immediately eliminated. She then glanced over the shoulders. It was the giveaway. The skinny figure with slightly sharp shoulders.

It was him. He pushed up off the window and began walking toward the forest, away from town. Away from her.

"I need to leave," she stood from her chair, forgetting where she was completely.

"Sit down," her teacher scolded, "You have two minutes left in class!"

Pleo snapped back to reality. Her eyes quickly looked back to the figure as she slowly took her seat. She stared at the figure and blinked, hard. This could be her imagination. A hallucination.

But he was so clear! He was standing _right there_.

Six years and she still knew the figure the minute she saw him. Memories flooded her, every thing he had ever said to her. Everything became like crystal in her mind. Her journey was not a dream. It was not a far off memory.

The bell rang and Pleo was the first person out of the room. She ran down the hallways, down the stairs, out the double doors.

She ran across the street and out into town. She squeezed under a broken fence and then was able to find a building with a fire escape. She flew up the ladder and the buildings were close enough for her to jump from roof to roof.

_There_.

She could see him now, just reaching the edge of the forest. About to escape into the trees. She reached the end of the buildings and jumped down, onto a dumpster first, and then down to the ground. She rolled to avoid injury and then sprang to her feet. She sprinted now, zipping through the grass that separated the city from the forest. Zagging through a few trees, she caught up to him. He was standing right in front of her, only twenty feet away now.

She saw a portal behind him and knew if she didn't stop him now, he'd disappear forever.

"Axel," she called, out of breath.

The figure hesitated for less than a second, but it didn't escape Pleo's notice. He tried to carry on, step into the portal. He only had to shuffle his feet, maybe twice, and he'd be gone. Away. He wouldn't have to deal with the obstacle that was before him. Run away from Pleo, go straight to Deym. But, despite his lack of a heart, not even he could stand to turn away from the girl.

He had missed her too much to turn away.

"I know it's you," she told him, "I can recognize you from a mile away."

He sighed, turned around, and let down his hood, revealing his unmistakable red spikes. His face was a little older, his features harder, but it was Axel, "Hey, kid."

She was by his side in a second, throwing her arms around his waist, "I missed you."

The portal behind him closed as he returned her hug.

"It's easy to forget I can't feel anything around you, kid," he smirked, "Damn your heart."

She smiled, wide, "Why are you here? It's so unexpected. It's unlike you."

"Not unlike me," Axel disagreed but didn't explain, "Is Deym around?"

Pleo led Axel to her home, a small place in a crowded neighborhood. She let them in and revealed a somewhat untidy living room with Deym sleeping on the couch.

"Deym!" Pleo ran to shake him, "Axel is here."

"Axel?" he mumbled, wiping his face with his sleeve, "Tell him to go away."

"Up, up, up," Axel clapped his hands at Deym, "Come on, punk. I didn't come all this way to watch you sleep."

Deym sat up, "Oh, you were serious."

"As a heart attack," Axel responded, "I need to talk to you in private."

"Why in private?" Pleo asked.

Axel sent her a sideways glance, "Adult matters, sweetheart."

Pleo smirked, "Because your adult matters _never_ have anything to do with me."

"She has a point," Deym noted, "She's not ten anymore, Axel."

Axel pursed his lips, debating, "In my head she is. But you're right, I guess."

Deym, Pleo, and Axel all moved to sit around the kitchen table.

"There's a lot to explain and little time," Axel cleared his throat, "We need to leave here as soon as possible."

"Leave?" Deym leaned forward.

"There's this fight going on, as we speak," Axel explained, "A war, really."

"Over?" Pleo pressed, anything to keep him talking.

Axel sighed, "Who knows? Our best guess is you, but it's only a guess. We have no evidence to prove this, but we also have no evidence that disproves this either. All we know is that worlds have constantly been lost to darkness. Why does that matter to the Organization? Because we believe someone's after you. And, well, that just won't do."

"A war?" Deym repeated, "Like, with people?"

Axel nodded, "A lot of people. And, quite honestly, it's not looking too great on our side."

"Wait," Pleo slowly stood from the table, "You're telling me people are out there, right now, dying for me? Why didn't you come sooner?"

"We wanted to," Axel insisted, "But the funny thing about the purest heart is that it's difficult to get to. You'd think it'd be easy to get to you. Except a shield of darkness has surrounded this entire world and it's been impossible to get through. We have an opening at the moment, but it's hard telling how long it will last. I told them to give me thirty minutes about fifteen minutes ago. Can you two be out of here before then?"

Pleo glanced over at Deym who was already on his feet, grabbing a bag out of the closet. He tossed a backpack to Pleo and then slung another over his shoulder.

"Hurry," he told her, "Grab some stuff and let's go."

Pleo ran into her room and threw whatever clothes were covering her floor into the bag. she stuffed in some toiletries, a blanket, and a first aid kit that she kept under her bed. She was slipping on her shoes and slinging a jacket over her arm just as Deym was shoving the emergency munny into the hidden pocket in his bag.

"Got everything?" Axel asked, pushing open the door.

Deym followed Axel out the door and they began jogging toward the forest. Pleo went after them but froze when she saw the sky. It was a thick grey, swirling above them. Small black pieces were sprinkling down on them.

"Deym," she whispered, but he was already too far away.

"Hurry, the darkness is going to shut off the world soon," she heard Axel say this to Deym, "Maybe they got mad and are now trying to destroy it."

She tried to ignore the sky and fell into a sprint. She caught up with them just as they reached the edge of the forest. Axel summoned a portal and plunged through. Deym quickly summoned his tonfas, blue fragments of light engulfing his hand as he ran after Axel. Pleo stood on the opposite side of the portal.

She glanced up one more time, then back at the city. People were gathering in the streets, staring up at the clouds and the unknown black substance. She knew this world would soon be lost. These people would be scattered, thrown into whatever worlds would take them. The people could only stare in confusion as the world slowly fell apart. She had never grown an attachment to the people, but it was a sad sight to see. Clueless victims were going to be left, waiting for a destruction that they had no knowledge of. Thrown into strange places and disconnected with all that they know. These people would be forced to live in her world. Forced to bear a faction of the pain that came with the burden of being associated with her. It wasn't their fault. These innocent people didn't have to be here, they didn't have to be staring up at an unforgiving sky, and they didn't have to know. But they were there. For all the wrong reasons, they were there.

"I'll make this right," Pleo whispered, "I promise."

She summoned her staff and followed Axel and Deym into the darkness.

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><p><strong>reviews?<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Dear 0o0-The-Melodious-Nocturne-0o0:**

Thank you! And I know my old writing was awful and I thank you so much for being a kazoo-er for so long! :D

Yayyy!

**A/N: this chapter is full of my own characters. i hope you like them. :D lemme know what you think.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3<strong>

**Allies**

Roam stared. The sound of the fighting was gone now. He could have sworn the sound of clashing swords was going to make him deaf only minutes ago. It was too difficult to grasp the idea that his army could be taken down in such a short time. He forced his eyes to weave around the battlefield, searching the bodies. He examined each one.

Dead.

Dead.

Dead.

Dead.

Dead.

_Wounded!_

He sprinted down the hill and slid to a stop next to the fallen soldier. He recognized him immediately.

"Malcome," he mouthed, still unbelieving.

"I'm fine," Malcome coughed back, "Really."

Malcome shoved off the ground and propped himself on his elbows with a groan. His dark hair was windblown with random streaks of blue fell across his face. He reached for his weapon, a long, thick scimitar, but winced when he bent at the stomach.

"You're hurt," Roam lightly pushed him back down, "Stop moving."

Malcome fell back on the ground, resting his head in the dirt. Roam quickly ripped off a long, thin section of his cloak and wrapped it around Malcome's stomach. Malcome winced but otherwise kept silent.

"Who else is alive?" Malcome asked, finally sitting up.

Roam shook his head, "I don't know."

"Go look," Malcome ordered, "I'll be fine. The battle is over, we lost."

Roam shook his head, "I can't just—"

"Go," Malcome shoved him slightly, "That's an order. I'm still in charge of you."

Roam shoved off the ground and began making his way through the battlefield. He didn't _want_ to obey Malcome, but Malcome _was_ the head of his unit. And, like it or not, Roam was still under his command. Even if everyone else in the army was dead.

It was silent. Hearing his own footsteps made him jump. It wasn't supposed to be like this. Sparr had one of the greatest armies throughout the kingdom. How could they be taken out by an unknown enemy?

The smell was unbearable. These people had been dead for less than an hour but still made him gag. He only threw up once as he made his way through the mile of bodies. The hardest part was seeing the faces. It was one thing to have death surround you, a whole other to see the faces of friends.

"Is there no one left?" he screamed, tears stinging his eyes, "Did they kill _everyone_?"

"Roam."

The voice was familiar. He glanced to his right and saw Kieran running toward him. His large red bow was slung over his shoulder, his brown hair poking out from his beanie. He was almost silent as he ran. Kieran never did wear armor as he should. How did he, of all people, survive? The only one without armor.

"Kieran," Roam turned toward him, "Is anyone else with you?"

"Na," Kieran's face fell, "I was going to ask you the same question."

"Malcome is alive," he informed, "But I haven't seen anyone else."

"My whole squad got taken down," Kieran sniffed, as if he had once been mourning but was over it now, "They—we didn't stand a chance."

"Kieran! Roam!" a younger girl sprinted toward them, her armor clanking lightly, "You're alive!" She had a man behind her who was dressed in the uniform of a Captain.

"Jane," Kieran smiled lightly at her.

"Have you found others?" The man behind her, Captain Baldric barked.

Kieran shook his head. Roam spoke up, "Only Malcome, sir."

"I've swept this area," Captain Baldric answered quickly, "You're wasting your time if you've come looking for survivors."

"So they basically wiped us out," Kieran noted, glancing away.

"We better get back to Malcome," Roam suggested, "He's wounded."

The four soldiers jogged back to where Malcome was laying. Captain Baldric pulled Malcome's arm around his neck and lifted him to his feet.

"Let's go, Captain," Captain Baldric exhaled sharply.

Roam couldn't help but be surprised. He often forgot Malcome was a Captain—his Captain, to be exact. Malcome was barely twenty while the other Captains were pushing thirty, sometimes forty. He also encouraged his regiment to simply refer to him as Malcome, not Captain Erikson. Malcome always told them, "If you give me a title, it implies that I'm somehow worth more than any other soldier. Here, in my regiment, no one is above another."

The five of them worked their way back into town, taking turns carrying Malcome. By the time they reached the outskirts of the city, it was nightfall and most the houses were dark.

"Look at that," Malcome stared up at the sky.

Roam shifted his gaze up, examining the awkward lightning strikes. The sky, from what he could see, was swirling.

"That's odd," Captain Baldric observed.

A dark portal appeared behind the soldiers, they stared as two men ran through and a girl stumbled out after.

"Who are you?" Kieran asked, staring at the strangers.

"We don't really have time for this," the man with spiky red hair rolled his eyes.

"You five are soldiers, right?" the other man asked, relaxing his tonfas.

"Who's asking?" Jane asked, more curiosity than threat in her voice.

"Deym, we don't have time," the red head repeated then stepped forward, "Look, we need your help. We share a common enemy."

"Why should we believe you?" Captain Baldric demanded.

The red head looked up and then held out his hand. Small black pieces fell into his palm, "It's starting."

Roam stared at the strangers. They men weren't making much sense and the girl hadn't said anything. She just stared at them with these wide blue eyes.

"You have to listen to us," the blond man spoke up, "We have to go, now. If you want to stop whatever it was that just destroyed your army, you have to come with us. There's no other way. And we need as much help as we can get."

No one spoke for a long moment. Malcome was the first to break the silence.

"I believe them," he shoved off of Captain Baldric and stood on his own two feet, "I don't know why, but I believe them." Roam saw Malcome's eyes flicker towards the girl.

"Fine," Captain Baldric finally agreed, unwillingly.

"If you're in," the red head spoke again, "Go quickly and pack whatever you need. We don't have much time. You have probably ten minutes tops. You go, we'll be waiting here."

The soldiers fell into a run towards the city. They each contemplated the idea of leaving with these strangers as they ran.

"I don't think I trust them," Captain Baldric insisted.

Malcome disagreed, "I have a gut feeling."

"I want to go," Kieran agreed, "I just… I have a feeling, too. Roam?"

Roam answered immediately, "I follow my Captain."

Jane pursed her lips, "If Kieran wants to go, I want to go."

Roam rolled his eyes.

Roam threw his cloak on the ground, threw a fresh one in his bag along with some clothes, then quickly wrapped his long scarf around his neck. Roam's scarf was his trademark piece of clothing. The only time he didn't wear it was when he was in his army uniform. The scarf was grey and tattered at the ends, which drug on the ground. He threw whatever he could see into his bag, secured his sword in the sheath at his side, and then shoved a knife into his boot.

"Roam?" his mother flipped on a light in the kitchen, "What's going on?"

"Ah, I'm," Roam racked his brain for a way to explain, "I'm being sent out with the army. I'll be back," he struggled with how to finish the sentence and settled for whatever was closest to the truth, "Eventually. Tell Dellie bye for me, okay?"

His mother crossed her arms over her stomach, as if trying to hold herself together, "I will. Be safe. I love you."

Roam quickly hugged his mother and then flew out the door. He tried to avoid goodbye to his family. Not because he didn't love them—far from it. Because goodbyes were always too painful. It was his own fault. It was his choice to go into the army.

He was outside within five minutes and met up with Kieran. All the others were still packing.

"Dude, this is bad," Kieran held his hand out and caught some of the black dust that fell like ashes.

"What is it?" Roam asked, catching some in his own hand.

Kieran shook his head, "I don't know, but it can't be good."

Malcome and Captain Baldric both came running, bags slung over their shoulders. Malcome seemed to be feeling better, at least enough to run. The group was thankful for Malcome's quick recovery, knowing they wouldn't want to keep dragging him along. If he hadn't been able to run, Roam was afraid Malcome would have insisted they leave him behind. And if Roam was forced to stay under the command of Winston Baldric, he would go insane.

"Where is Jane?" Captain Baldric barked.

Kieran rolled his eyes, "Probably packing her make up or something."

Jane came running soon after, her bag slapping against her bag with every stride. The group began sprinting back to the portal, both excited and apprehensive.

"Hurry," the red head told them, "We don't have much time."

He disappeared behind the portal and the other man followed after. The girl stared at them and the soldiers stared at the portal.

"Ladies first?" Kieran suggested, shoving Jane forward.

"Kieran!" she yelped, staring wide-eyed at the portal, "This could be a bad idea. We have no idea where it leads!"

The girl stepped forward, her staff resting at her side. Light surrounded her hand and then her weapon was gone. She then held out her hand to Jane.

"You don't have to follow," she told her in a soft voice, "The choice is entirely yours. And I understand if you're afraid. I'm afraid, too. But these guys…" she glanced back at the portal and smiled, "You can trust them. And you can trust me."

Slowly, Jane reached out and took the girl's hand. The two of them linked arms and walked through the portal together. The men were right behind them, barreling into the darkness toward an unknown destination.

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><p><strong>reviews? :D<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**i'm really tired. sorry for the delay. don't expect any updates for a few days because i unfortunately have to get my wisdom teeth pulled tomorrow. and that will be a ton of not fun. :( however, i will try and be as happy as possible, even with my hurting mouth that will be less-full-of-teeth than it is now. ...wow. i'm not using words very well. and i'm a writer? hahaha. anyway, keep to the beat :D  
><strong>

**DFTBA**

**oh. speaking of DFTBA, are any of my kazooers also nerdfighters? cause i think if you are, that'd be awesome. and if you don't know what a nerdfighter is... go watch this video. - .com/watch?v=FyQi79aYfxU**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4<strong>

**Trusted**

The soldiers found themselves on a strange ship, floating through an endless space. Looking back, they could see the dark swirling clouds threatening to engulf their world. Jane stared at the darkness, her hands pressed against the glass of the window.  
>"It's not going to change, sweetheart. No matter how long you stare," the redhead told her, looking down at his chakrums.<br>"What's happening?" she asked, turning to face him.  
>He pursed his lips, "It's being destroyed."<br>"Destroyed?" her eyes widened.  
>Malcome looked up quickly, Captain Baldric jumped to his feet, Kieran turned to look out the window, and Roam took a step back so he could brace himself against the wall.<br>"Our world is already gone," the other man explained, his blond hair blocking his eyes.  
>"And so you thought you should bring whatever was coming after your world to ours?" Captain Baldric stormed, charging toward the redhead.<br>"Hey, hey," he threw up his hands innocently, "Don't jump to conclusions."  
>Jane turned to the girl who had remained silent through this whole conversation. The girl was resting her staff on her lap but her knuckles were white from holding it so tight. She was looking out the opposite window, secluded from the group.<br>Jane took a few steps toward her, "I still trust you."  
>The girl jumped and then slowly turned. Her eyes were heavy with deep black lines under them. Her lips turned up into a bright smile, despite the rest of her worn out appearance.<br>"Thank you," she answered and stood, "I know it's hard to understand now, but I know you're supposed to be here."  
>"Great," Baldric rolled his eyes, "The twelve-year-old thinks we should be here. We might as well drop everything we're doing to stay with these freaks."<br>The girl scowled, "I'm sixteen."  
>"Seventeen," the blond haired man corrected, glancing at the watch on his arm, "It's midnight. Happy birthday."<br>"Don't yell at her," the redhead stepped forward, "It's not her fault your world is being destroyed."  
>"Destroyed," Roam had finally found his voice, "No. Turn around."<br>"What?" the redhead scoffed, staring, "Are you kidding?"  
>"People are still there!" Roam was yelling now, "My family, innocent people! You can't just pick a few people and then condemn the rest to death. Who do you think you are?"<br>The girl spoke up, "They'll be okay."  
>Roam stared at her.<br>"They'll be okay," she repeated.  
>Roam still wanted to yell. But looking at the girl calmed him, slowed his breath, and gave him a piece of mind. His voice was soft, "You're sure?"<br>She nodded, "I promise."  
>"Sure," Captain Baldric snorted, turning his back to the girl, "No one can be sure."<p>

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><p>"Introductions, shall we?" the redhead suggested and waited for the soldiers to respond.<br>Malcome stepped forward and recited the usual army introduction, "Malcome, Twenty-two years old, and five years of experience in the close-range combat department of the Sparr army, two years experience in Command."  
>"Captain Winston Baldric," he introduced himself in the most formal way possible, putting himself on what he perceived to be a pedestal, "Thirty-eight years old, three years of experience in the long-range combat department and ten years of experience in the close-range combat department of the Sparr army, nine years experience in Command."<br>"Jane, eighteen years old, one year of experience in the medical department and one year of experience in the close-combat department of the Sparr army."  
>"Roam, nineteen years old, four years of experience in the close-range combat department of the Sparr army."<br>"Kieran, nineteen years old, one year of experience in the close-range combat department and three years experience in the long-range combat department of the Sparr army."  
>"Wow," the blond man nodded slightly, "Discipline."<br>The redhead let out a low whistle, "Well, I'm Axel. A-X-E-L. Got it memorized? I'm number Eight in Organization XIII. The flurry of dancing flames."  
>"Deym," the blond man introduced himself, "I don't really have a title. Learned how to fight when I was ten and never stopped."<br>"And I'm Pleo," the girl stepped forward, "Been learning combat for seven years, specializing in close-range magic. The Purest Heart."  
>"So," Axel stepped forward and began speaking, "Since you're all so confused, I'll try and clear things up. Whatever it is that is now attacking your world has been attacking any and every world it can get to. The force seems to be looking for something and, apparently, hasn't found it yet. I don't need to explain to you why this is a problem."<br>"So you're telling me that thing is going to keep taking worlds until it finds what it wants?" Captain Baldric stood up.  
>"Well, Winston," Axel threw his arm over his shoulder, "Can I call you Winston?"<br>Captain Baldric stared, "No."  
>Axel continued as if he had received no response, "We have no idea what this thing is. Obviously, it's darkness. But we have no idea who is controlling it or why. When we find those answers, it will be quite clear who we need to take down. That's where you guys come in. We're creating an army and we need every person we can get. Whoever is strong enough to create and control something like this is not to be taken lightly."<br>"So you're planning on taking on his enemy with only eight people?" Jane looked at Axel wide eyed.  
>"No," Deym answered, "We have more. We already have the Organization, so that puts us at twenty-one. We've reached the King and the key bearers, they're all in. We're going to Radiant Garden now to get the Restoration Committee. Add those in and we're already at thirty-three. We have more people than you think."<br>"The Restoration Committee," Captain Baldric repeated skeptically, "I'm sure they're precious. What on earth qualifies them to fight?"  
>Pleo stared at him, just wondered why he wouldn't give them a chance. He acted as if he already knew everything, as if he already had all the answers and was just waiting for everyone else to catch up to him. She was sure he had it backwards.<br>"Please don't assume we can't hold our own," Pleo finally addressed him, "We came to you asking for help. You didn't have to come. No one forced you to be here. If you don't agree with us or don't want to help, feel free to leave."  
>"Yeah," Deym added, his response a was a little harsher than Pleo's but carried the same message, "Don't take this the wrong way, but, honestly, you're completely replaceable."<br>That got Captain Baldric to shut up.  
>"We're coming up on Radiant Garden now," Axel told them, "Ready to go?"<br>No one answered, but they all got to their feet, ready to depart.

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	5. Chapter 5

next chapter! away!

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><p><strong>Chapter 5<strong>  
><strong>Rookies<strong>

Any luck?" Leon looked over Cid's shoulder at the computer screen.

"Na," Cid answered, pounding at the keyboard, "I'm still clueless."

"What are you looking for, exactly?" Aerith asked, titling her head slightly.

Yuffie answered for him, "He's looking for any clues as to what could be controlling this darkness. It's kinda strange though, right?"

"Yeah," Leon answered, not taking his eyes from the computer.

There was a light tap on the door followed by a loud one. Yuffie ran to the door and pulled it open without hesitation.

Pleo threw up a hand and Axel walked right in. Deym was behind Axel and then, slowly, the soldiers followed.

"Pleo!" Yuffie ran past Axel and Deym and quickly captured Pleo in a hug.

"Hello to you, too," Axel mumbled, offended she had ran past him.

Aerith smirked, "Hello, Axel."

Yuffie turned around, "You're not that important." Axel pursed his lips but didn't say anything.

"Who are they?" Leon asked, walking over to the group.

"New recruits," Axel explained, "For a secret mission."

"And by "secret" he means the giant darkness that is going around and consuming worlds, which I'm sure you all are already aware of. And we are now here to inform you of all we know and ask you to join us too," Deym explained quickly, assuming they could fill in the gaps.

"We figured you'd be here soon," Leon nodded, "The King was just here with Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Bruixe. He beat you to it."

The door opened again and in walked Tifa with Could behind her.

"Hey," Tifa told them, slightly surprised.

"Did you two find anything?" Cid asked without turning from the computer.

"No," Tifa answered, her voice falling slightly, "Nothing."

Cloud stared at the soldiers, "Who are they?"

"Oh, right," Axel turned to the group of perplexed soldiers, "These guys are from a place called Sparr. We were able to save them before their world got taken. They're all part of the army so will be valuable when this turns into a war."

"When?" Leon looked at him, "It already is. People are already following the darkness, trying to fight it. Unsuccessfully, I might add."

"Anyway," Yuffie pointed to the soldiers, "Let's let them introduce themselves."

The team introduced themselves in the same way, explaining their experience and giving their name. Captain Baldric was last to answer, beginning his long speech of accomplishments.

Malcome spoke, for the first time in a long time, "That's enough, Winston."

Captain Baldric stared, his mouth still hanging open.

"Come off your high horse," Malcome's voice was not harsh, but he was serious.

"_My_ high horse?" Captain Baldric repeated, "You should learn to hold your tongue when speaking to a superior officer, Captain."

"Have you heard anything they've said?" Malcome stood, looking Captain Baldric in the eye, "This is going to be a war. And these people we're with, they're on the right side. Stop pretending like you're so much better than them. They know much more about the current situation than you, Sir. And I would suggest you humble yourself and understand that you are not the most experienced or knowledgeable. That girl," he pointed at Pleo, "knows more than you. Can you not see that? Look in her eyes and tell me she's incompetent. Tell me she isn't in the right place; tell me she doesn't know more than you."

Captain Baldric didn't speak for a long moment, "I say this once more, Malcome. I am your superior. Hold. Your. Tongue."

Malcome shook his head, "We're not in Sparr anymore. We are not fighting for the Sparr army, we are fighting with their army. You hold no position of authority here, you're a rookie. You have no control over me."

Winston stared, speechless. He quickly turned and walked out the door, slamming it behind him. Jane quickly began to follow but Roam caught her arm.

"Let him calm down," he told her, "He'll be back."

Jane stared at the door, "But he's my Captain."

Roam glanced at Malcome and then to the others beyond his regiment, "He's not your captain here."

Roam understood what Malcome was saying. As he looked around the room he no longer saw a group of strangers. He saw soldiers who were trying to prepare themselves. And when he looked at Pleo, he no longer saw a fragile little girl. He saw a young woman who was pained by the idea of war. He had looked in her eyes and knew what Malcome had seen. She was not incompetent or lost. She knew where she was, who she was, and what she was fighting for. Roam saw that. And he now understood that he was not a strong soldier here, but a lost little boy.

"I apologize for our behavior," Malcome announced, "We're with you now."

"Excellent," Axel beamed, "Now let's get down to business."

"To defeat the Huns?"

A portal appeared, taking up most of the small room. Out of it stepped four people and also a small mouse with big ears.

Pleo was running instantly. She threw her arms around the first person she could reach. She hugged each person in turn, almost in tears.

"Sora, Riku, Kairi, Bruixe," she then turned to the mouse and bowed slightly, "Your Majesty. I've missed you all so much."

"It's been a long time," Riku nodded. Kairi and Sora both had goofy grins on their faces. Bruixe tossed a hand up to wave.

The four faces were incredibly familiar but different in so many ways. They were all older, taller. There were subtle differences in their faces and how they carried themselves. But they were all there and their personalities just as she had remembered.

The introductions of the soldiers and the key bearers were made quickly, now that the soldiers simply stated their name rather than their experience and standing.

"Can someone explain everything?" Kieran asked, "I mean, I feel lost."

"I can explain a few things," the King spoke, "It's been about a month since the key bearers and I left to do some research on the enemy. We couldn't find much, but we did follow the darkness. Whatever is controlling it is looking for something. We have reason to believe it's searching for Pleo. We found that the darkness doesn't only consume the world, it examines each heart. If it's not what it wants, the people are not harmed. They're taken to another world, one that is impossible for us to get to. It's too heavily guarded by darkness for us to get through. We were surprised the people were being sorted. This enemy isn't like any other we've had. It seems to _value _human life, if that's what you want to call it. It's strange and I'm unable to comprehend it."

"I'm tracking it now," Cid announced, turning from the computer, "It's moving toward Halloween Town now."

Sora stood up, "Let me go there real fast. I'll go get Jack before the world is gone. He'll be able to fight with us."

Axel stood up, "Come on, Key Kid," he tossed his arm out and created a portal, "Let's go get him."

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	6. Chapter 6

**so... sorry for the wait. but... i just started this thing called college and it's kinda hard to focus. lol. anyway, i also got EXTREMELY sidetracked because i learned that one of my favorite bands "broke up." and i'll probably never live this down, but this happened 3 years ago. and i just found out. and i'm taking this kinda hard. Evans Blue. the lead singer left in 2007 and well... created this new band which, i'm sure you guys have heard of, called Parabelle. and i never listened to parabelle and had NO IDEA it was the ex-singer of Evans Blue. WHAAAAT? this is pretty hard for me, guys. and now i learned that one of my favorite songs by Evans Blue was actually a Parabelle song... AWKWARD! i still listen to old evans blue and now i listen to parabelle... so kinda weird. and, for the record, i don't know if i like the new evans blue or not.**

**omg. this is hard. :/**

**anyway... read and review! :D**

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><p>I tried to remember what<br>life was like without you  
>but it never seems<br>to let me forget.  
>And will you wait on the edge?<br>And will you wait for me to catch you?  
>Through no faults of your own<br>you're bleeding.  
>Do you remember what you want?<br>I'm so alone.  
>With loss and doubts of my own<br>You need me.  
>And I will be here when you want.<p>

_Reassembling the Icons – by Parabelle_

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><p><strong>Chapter 6<strong>

**Forgotten**

Roam looked up at the sky and let out a slow sigh. It was a difficult task. At least, for him it was. The instructions were easy enough. "Stay with Pleo," was all they told him. Easier said than done.

Why had they picked him for this? Jane was better at this sort of thing. Jane could talk to people. And even though Jane was small and petite, she could handle herself. She could have protected Pleo _and _held a conversation. Him? No. He wasn't good at talking to people.

"So," he glanced at her, struggling to end the awkward silence, "They always leave you behind like this?"

Pleo was taken aback, "Leave me behind?"

"Yeah," he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, "I mean, everyone went to different worlds to recruit people. And yet they didn't even consider sending you somewhere."

Pleo gave him a look, "They don't _leave me behind_."

"You sure about that?" he sent her a sideways glance, "Everyone has something to do, some kind of responsibility. Except you."

"Yeah," she scoffed, "I don't have _any _responsibilities."

Pleo struggled to stay calm. She reminded herself that Roam didn't know about her last adventure, who she was, or what exactly was going on.

"You think otherwise?" he countered, "I don't see you doing anything. I mean, they made me stay with you. You aren't doing anything _and_ you need someone to constantly watch over you."

Pleo's eyes narrowed, "Watch over me? Is that what you think you're doing?"

Roam rolled his eyes, "Why else would they make us stay here? I'm a good soldier. And my instructions were to stay with you. Obviously you need to be protected."

"I don't need to be _protected_," Pleo told him bitterly.

He laughed.

Pleo jumped off the bench and started walking away, "I don't need you, you know."

Roam stood and followed behind her, "Sure you don't."

Without warning, Pleo summoned her staff. She jumped back so she was beside Roam and then swung the staff hard into his stomach. He hunched over immediately, his stomach heaved.

"I don't need you to protect me," she told him in a hard voice, "I've made it seventeen years without you, I think I can survive until my friends get back."

She began walking away quickly.

Roam shoved himself to his feet and scrambled after her, "My orders were to stay with you."

"Leave me alone!"

A large beam of light struck back and pushed Roam away. He stumbled backwards and Pleo kept walking. This time, the light crated a barrier, forbidding Roam from walking behind her.

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><p>Stupid. Idiot. He had one order. One. Stay with Pleo, that was it. But here he was, sitting on his ass while she storms off because he apparently insulted her. What had he done wrong? He just stated the obvious. Did she really not see that's what they were doing?<p>

They didn't need her! Why else would they leave her behind with him as her body guard? That's what he was, right?

He found his way back to the Merlin's house. He figured whenever she did calm down, that's where she'd come back to. Not that he particularly minded if she didn't come back at all. If she wanted to think she could take care of herself, then fine. Let her take care of herself.

Roam couldn't help feeling like this was pointless. He was a soldier. He was meant to fight, not stay back and babysit. He reminded himself that now they were recruiting, not fighting. But that would be better than being stuck in this rinky-dink town with a girl who didn't listen to him.

Most girls saw his armor and then listened to him without hesitation. Even Jane listened to him. He never met a girl who didn't listen to him.

And he didn't like it.

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><p>Pleo stormed forward toward the waterfalls. She had never really gone out looking for trouble, but now she didn't care. She just wanted to hit something. Maybe it was something she had picked up from Bruixe. But Maybe not.<p>

She leapt on the blue platforms until she came to the old castle entrance. The Castle had been closed off for years—Yuffie had told her earlier—and they didn't suggest poking around in there. However, Yuffie actually _knew_ Pleo and didn't tell her it was off limits or that Pleo wouldn't be able to _handle _it on her own.

Pleo ran through the two stone pillars and jumped into the brass transportation car. She was amazed the cart still worked. Ever since they restored Radiant Garden to it's prime condition the castle got little to no usage. She always did want to fix this place up but apparently the Restoration Committee either didn't intend to put the building to use or hadn't gotten the time to fix it up yet. She guessed the latter.

When the car reached the top, she went straight for the large door etched with that looked like tree branches. A few small heartless appeared but they didn't come toward her. She moved toward them and they moved away, which had never happened. She continued through the door, trying to push away the fact that she may not be able to take out her anger on heartless. Once in the next room she sat down on the edge of the fountain. She hugged her feet to her chest with one arm and controlled the water with the other. She slowly made waves in the fountain, pushing the water back and forth.

Pleo heard a sharp whooshing sound and then a cloaked figure stepped out of a portal. The figure was tall and skinny and stepped out of the portal at awkward intervals. She glanced over the figure, taking in the way the cloak fell. She knew the shape, but not the gestures. He walked without direction, moving aimlessly around the room but somehow closer to her. He staggered toward her, then away again. He tilted his head back and forth before taking uneven steps forward. She stood up slowly and he staggered away. He fell against the wall and barely caught himself.

"Why is your hood up?" she asked in a clear voice. She _knew _that cloaked figure. She knew him almost as well as she knew herself. It was him. It _had_ to be him. There was a long pause and he still hadn't spoken so she spoke again, "I know it's you. Demyx… Why won't you talk to me?"

He walked toward her. His gaze invisible, lost in the shroud of his hood, but she could tell he was fixated on her. She felt tense, like something wasn't right. Something was different, awkward. But it was him so she wasn't afraid.

"This…" a voice, slow and tired, said as he pointed to her necklace, "Is mine."

She grabbed the necklace, holding the small metal sitar in her palm, and nodded.

"Why?" he asked, in the same tired voice, "Do you have it?"

She titled her head slightly, "You gave it to me."

"But," he put down his hood, revealing his familiar spiked blond hair, "I don't know you."

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